Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Regardless of Alex's antics, as long as he gets the job done, that's enough.

“Speaking of which, why don’t you go to Brix Keep to lay low for a while? I’m sure Scar has no interest in going there,” Isaac said jokingly.

"Never mind... never mind, if I went there I would definitely be killed by my sister." Alex was covered in cold sweat.

------------

After explaining everything, Alex arrived at Leiden Harbor the next day.

"Colonel Isaac! Come back soon!" Alex stood on the ship, waving a handkerchief goodbye with tears in his eyes, his face still sparkling.

The sight of him against his strong physique was so incongruous that people on the dock all turned to look at him, but Isaac simply turned his head away and pretended not to know him.

In addition to the tasks assigned to this country, there are also domestic matters that need to be addressed.

Chapter 67: Isaac's Kitchen Adventure

After seeing Alex off, Isaac became quite relaxed.

There's no need to worry about the war for the time being. We first recaptured Mazig and then decimated the enemy's army of about 50,000. They won't dare to make any moves for a while.

As long as the Southwestern Allied Forces, led by Leiden-Sheftrich, do not send troops, there will be a period of development.

the next day.

Inside the Army Headquarters at this time.

"Commander-in-Chief, this is the list that traitor gave me last time." Isaac handed a slip of paper to the Army Commander-in-Chief.

The note was filled with a dense list of families involved in harboring the remnants of the enemy army.

"Thank you, Mr. Isaac. What awaits them now is the trial in court." The Commander-in-Chief's eyes became unusually firm.

I used to think that those people were only good at tripping me up, but I never expected that they would even help the enemy during the war.

"No need to wait for the court, just drive over in tanks and raid their house."

"Um... we still have to follow the prescribed procedures and collect evidence of their crimes, otherwise they are all families with some power."

"There's no time to deal with this kind of nonsense during wartime. I'll just give you a few high-explosive shells and blast them to pieces. A few shots and an entire family will be wiped out."

"After all..." The Commander-in-Chief was also somewhat troubled.

“Then let me show you this.” Isaac said, taking out another piece of paper. “This is the cost list for this war. Please settle the accounts.”

The commander-in-chief glanced at the list and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Why does it cost so much money?!"

"Why wouldn't it cost that much? 1,500 high-explosive shells, 500 armor-piercing shells, 100 poison gas shells, a one-ton thermobaric bomb for defensive purposes, three white phosphorus bombs, and thousands of landmines. Do you think these things are cheap?"

"This..." The commander-in-chief was speechless for a moment.

"And I haven't even included my labor costs. I fought the last battle entirely by myself, without consuming any of your troops. How are you going to calculate this cost?"

"Uh..." The Commander-in-Chief was finally speechless.

"So when are you planning to pay me?"

"This... I don't have that much money right now..." the commander-in-chief said pitifully.

It is definitely not a good idea to owe money to a colonel in Amestris.

“No, you can afford that money.” Isaac put his arm around the Commander-in-Chief’s shoulder and said with a sinister look, “Think about it, once you’ve collected evidence of these families’ crimes, just tell the whole country that they’ve become traitors.”

"Then you can openly drive tanks into their homes under the guise of 'eliminating traitors.' These families have enough wealth to pay off their debts. You're the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, don't tell me you can't do it."

"..." The Commander-in-Chief fell into deep thought for a moment.

"I've said everything I needed to say. The rest is up to you." With that, he walked straight out of the Commander-in-Chief's office.

With some free time, Isaac headed towards the training field.

At this moment, Violet was training with the other soldiers.

"Barnett, what level do you think Violet is at right now?" Isaac asked Barnett, who was supervising the soldiers' training.

“Strictly speaking, her skill level far surpasses that of ordinary soldiers, and her individual combat ability is terrifying. I can say I have nothing more to teach her,” Barnett remarked. “Are you going to send her to the battlefield next time?”

"We won't let her go to the battlefield."

"Is that so?" Barnett didn't ask any further questions.

Isaac was just waiting for their training to finish.

"Mr. Isaac, have you come to pick me up?" Violet rushed over as soon as she saw Isaac.

"Yeah, training must have been tough." Isaac smiled and patted her head. "Let's go home."

"Ah."

Although Isaac was staying in temporary accommodations provided by the military, thankfully the kitchen and other facilities were still available.

"Then, I'll cook today myself."

When Isaac got home and put on his apron, he actually looked quite convincing.

He had actually wanted to try cooking for a long time, and recently he had some free time, so he decided to give his culinary skills a try.

Violet looked at Isaac curiously, remembering clearly that ever since she started living with Isaac, she had always eaten out at restaurants.

"Judging from your expression, you have some doubts about my cooking skills. I'm not bragging, but I do know a thing or two about the complicated dishes from Singapore."

With that, Isaac picked up the pot and placed it on the stove, then pushed Violet out of the kitchen: "Alright, just wait outside for a moment, I'll show you what I can do today."

Violet nodded at his confident demeanor, but after a moment she said to Isaac, "Please be careful."

Isaac didn't seem to care much.

Be careful? Be careful of what? It's not like my cooking will explode.

Confidently, he walked into the kitchen, intending to first make a stir-fried noodle dish to demonstrate his skills. "Hmph," he thought, "Violet will definitely be astonished, letting her know that her superior is all-powerful."

A few minutes later.

boom!!

A loud explosion came from the kitchen.

Violet was shocked and rushed to the kitchen, only to find it already filled with thick smoke.

"Mr. Isaac! Where are you? Are you alright?" Violet called anxiously into the kitchen, and seeing no response, she rushed in despite the thick smoke.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Isaac coughed, and Violet ran inside to find him looking disheveled.

"That's strange, why did it explode? I made sure I followed the recipe exactly." Isaac, who was still blowing smoke rings, was very puzzled.

I've never seen any accidents happen when I'm barbecuing.

"Mr. Isaac, are you hurt? Please wait a moment, we'll take you to the hospital right away." Before Isaac could react, the person grabbed him and dragged him outside.

"Wait! Calm down, I'm fine." He quickly stopped Violet from dragging him outside, clasped his hands together, and a burst of lightning filled his body, making his previously tattered clothes look brand new and tidying up his disheveled appearance.

"Are you really alright?" Violet asked Isaac with concern.

"It's really nothing, just wait a moment, I'll go fix the kitchen." With that, she ran towards the kitchen.

A flash of lightning, and the kitchen, which had been destroyed, was now completely transformed.

At this point, Isaac also gained a new understanding of his culinary skills.

"Let's find a restaurant outside today." Isaac said helplessly as he walked towards the bathroom, not daring to go into the kitchen for the time being.

Just as Isaac walked into the kitchen, Violet looked at the newly renovated kitchen and had a bold idea in her mind, so she went in as well.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Support Mission

"Ah~ a shower feels so much better." After showering and changing, Isaac returned to the living room. "Violet, get ready, we're going out... What are you doing?"

The kitchen was now a mess again, with various ingredients scattered on the floor.

Violet, wearing an apron, awkwardly fries something in a pan.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Isaac, it will be ready soon." Violet was unusually serious, her eyes fixed on the contents of the pot.

"Um... I'm not in a hurry, but are you sure you're okay?" Isaac asked, watching Violet's cautious movements.

“No problem, I watched Mr. Oscar do it at his house, and I’ve memorized all the steps.”

"Okay, good luck then." With that, she walked out of the kitchen.

Although she was still a little worried, this was Violet's first time trying cooking, and she was somewhat looking forward to it.

The kitchen was filled with clanging and clattering sounds, but since there was no explosion, it was at least stronger than itself.

Half an hour later.

Two servings of creamy bacon pasta were placed on the table, and I must say they looked quite appealing.

Seeing Violet looking at him expectantly, Isaac decided to give it a try first.

Anyway, it won't kill anyone.

When Isaac tried to pick up the noodles with his fork, he found them to be unusually hard. The noodles seemed to have solidified and did not react no matter how the fork tried to poke them.

However, when force was applied, the entire piece of dough was lifted up like a pancake.

Isaac: "..."

Anyway, let's try it first.

I took a bite of this 'pancake' and chewed it a few times, and I could vaguely hear a 'crunching' sound.

"Did we fail?" Violet's expression was somewhat downcast.

I had thought I could cook something decent for Mr. Isaac to taste, and maybe even get some praise.

Now it seems...

"It wasn't a failure, actually. The taste was alright." After struggling to eat the whole 'pancake', Isaac smiled and said, "I'm already very happy that you cooked for me. Thank you, Violet."

“Mr. Isaac…” Violet’s expression was somewhat moved when she heard Isaac say this.

“However…” Isaac sighed after looking at the mess in the kitchen.

"We've basically said goodbye to the kitchen."